To raise £10K to fill the gap left by reduced grant funding so that we can deliver everything we've got planned for Fuse 2018 and cover our costs.

Please pledge now! In return we're offering some rewards as a special thank you

Hello! We are Phil and Pam Beale, the husband and wife team heading up Lichfield's Fuse Festival 2018. We've been involved with Fuse and its parent organisation the registered charity Lichfield Arts for many years as volunteers. Now we're organising and running it, along with lots of wonderful volunteers. Fuse is 17 years old this year, and we are passionate about making it the best ever - having seen from our past involvement the difference it makes to all involved, including our visitors, our volunteers and our performers.

What makes our festival great?

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Quite simply, the four F's: it's Free, it's Friendly, it's Fun and it has something for all the Family - and that's why people love it!

Fuse is a community event put on each July - this year it's Friday 13th to Sunday 15th July. It is taking place in Beacon Park in the beautiful small cathedral city of Lichfield in South Staffordshire.

It's not just another music or arts festival. In line with our charitable aims it's an event that makes a difference to people's lives: engaging them in quality arts and music, giving performers a platform, encouraging volunteering and building a sense of community locally. It's been going for 17 years and is now part of the fabric of the Lichfield district.

We have so much planned for the festival this year. Fantastic live music spread over two stages; audience participatory activities such as beatboxing, storytelling, musical instrument making, drumming workshops, art and crafting, poetry, sporting challenges, close-up magic and dance; a wonderful selection of food traders, a vibrant festival market and a well-stocked bar.

The best thing about Fuse is that IT'S FREE - and we do this to ensure no barriers to entry.

So what's the problem?-----------------------------

Because it's free we get no ticket revenue to help pay for it. Also we don't receive funding from the local councils. Hence we rely on, amongst other things, grant income - and that’s the problem, because this year our grant income has shrunk considerably.

We have managed to increase other forms of income - including from our fabulous sponsors, donors and traders - but we're still £10,000 short.

Fuse will go ahead this year regardless, but we need to fill this funding gap if we're to deliver all we have planned and cover our costs - and so avoid financial risk for our parent organisation, the charity Lichfield Arts.

Hence we are reaching out to you all to ‘light the Fuse’ by pledging now to our crowd funding campaign.

Why should you pledge?------------------------------

Think of it this way. How much would you pay for a night out? Well at Fuse, you get not just a night out but three days of entertainment for zilch. So given this year's circumstances we really hope you will want to contribute to our campaign - in effect, by doing no more than paying for entry as you normally would elsewhere – and you could qualify for a reward as a thank you!

Even if you're not planning to attend, by contributing you will be safe in the knowledge that you will have done your bit to ensure we cover our costs and deliver everything we've got lined up for Fuse this year.

Contribute in other ways-------------------------------

We realise some people won't be able to contribute financially - in which case why not contribute in person by volunteering (just email us: fuse@lichfieldarts.org.uk) or simply by coming along to the festival to enjoy what's on offer.

Rewards-----------

We hope you'll like these as a token of our appreciation...

£20 pledge--------------To reduce plastic waste we will be selling our souvenir reusable cups at the Fuse bar for drinks to be dispensed into. People can continue to use them thereafter during Fuse and beyond! By pledging £20 you can claim one for free from our bar.

Here's a picture of one of our cups from a couple of years ago - a brand new batch with a new design is currently in production.

£50 pledge--------------By pledging £50 you can get your hands on a fabulous funky Fuse T-shirt!

Available in black or white and in a range of unisex sizes.

Collect in person from our Lichfield office or at the festival.

£100 pledge----------------For a pledge of £100 you can choose a free ticket to any concert with tickets still available in Lichfield Arts' regular Autumn 2018 concert series at Lichfield's Guildhall - see the Lichfield Arts website for more details.

Corporate pledge----------------------

In addition we offer a range of sponsorship benefits to companies in return for a corporate pledge. We have set up two specific options in the 'rewards' section but are happy to tailor the packages to your needs - please contact us at fuse@lichfieldarts.org.uk for more information on this.